Novak Djokovic has spoken out against the fan at the US Open who was deliberately trying to disrupt his game.
Djokovic was in complete command against Tallon Griekspoor in the second round on Thursday, winning in straight sets.
However, the world number one was angered at one point with a disruptive fan, prompting him to complain to the umpire about him deliberately screaming just as he was executing his shots.
After the match, Djokovic was keen to clarify his position on it, stressing that it wasn’t a case of him being ‘a spoiled brat.’
“When tennis players talk about that, someone who is watching team sports would say, ‘What a spoiled brat’,” Djokovic said.
“But it’s a different sport. Look, there’s a lot of noise happening on the stadium, particularly in the night sessions. I don’t mind that.
“Even sometimes during the point it happens that people out of excitement, they just scream or they release like a sound or whatever, sigh, whatever you call it. And that’s fine.
“But if someone intentionally does it over and over again, then I have tolerance up to a certain point, then it’s not correct, then it’s not fine. It’s not fair. I feel like it’s not good for us players.
“I mean, particularly that guy for some reason was calling, raising the sound and kind of screaming just before I would hit my smash, which was a big point. Before that he would do a few times. After that again.
“That wasn’t nice. That’s all. I don’t mind the noise. Don’t get me wrong. I think it’s important for the entertainment, for the crowds, the music.
“I get it. But if someone does it over and over again, particularly when you are at his side, he knows why he’s doing it.
“The guy that I pointed out, he knew exactly what he was doing, and that’s all.”
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